Former Cherokee County High School and Jacksonville State University standout receiver Maurice Dupree isn’t giving up on his dream of playing in the National Football League, even if he has to take a detour.

Dupree recently signed a contract with the Alabama Vipers, a team in the new Arena Football One League, to give himself more exposure to potential NFL suitors. The Vipers are based in Huntsville. They are formerly known as the Tennessee Valley Vipers of the Arena Football 2 league.

Dupree said he begins training camp in March, with the regular season beginning in April. He said he’s excited about getting to play football once again.

“I’ve been working out, so I’ve just got to get some game exposure,” Dupree said. “This will be good for me. I’m tired of just practicing. I’m just anxious to play. There’s going to be some adjustments. Their field is 50 yards long, so it will be a lot quicker pace.”

Dupree said former JSU teammate Taurean Rhetta is also on the Viper squad.

Dupree signed as a free agent with the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2009 NFL Draft in April. He was released by the Jaguars in the preseason, but later got a call from the team after his release and played with the practice squad. Dupree was released from the Jaguar practice squad in October, but recently landed with the Atlanta Falcons. He played with the Falcons’ practice squad for the past 3 ½ weeks before his release.

While in Atlanta, Dupree said he kept up with his high school alma mater in the Class 4A state championship game in Tuscaloosa. He didn’t get to attend the Warriors’ 31-27 victory against Jackson on Dec. 4, but kept a close eye online to see how they were doing.

“I had to practice that day, so I didn’t get off to see them,” he said. “I had been working out at the school last summer and told them they had a good chance of winning it. For them to go undefeated, that’s going into the record books. That’s something we could never do.”

Dupree said he’s hopeful his new football home will help get him back into the NFL.

“There’s 32 teams in the NFL, and only two of them really know about me,” he said. “Hopefully I can get back into the league this summer.”

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The DeKalb County football coaches have selected their All-County team. Four Collinsville Panthers took spots on the team.

On offense, Ryan Chamblee was selected at one of the five offensive linemen positions. Sharrard Crawley earned a spot at wide receiver.

On defense, Justin Irvine snagged one of the five defensive linemen positions. Kenny Orr was selected at punter.

Fyffe’s Taylor Thrash earned the team’s Offensive MVP honor. Defensive MVP went to Plainview’s Hunter Wright.

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For those of you who didn’t get to see the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Classic, you’ll have another chance.

Game officials announced that CSS, the regional sports cable network available in more than 5.9 million homes throughout a 12-state southeast region, will re-air the VERSUS broadcast Saturday, Dec. 26 at 3:30 p.m.

Alabama won the game 21-13 for its second victory in a row and the 10th in the last 12 games. Alabama enjoys a 16-7 advantage in the series that began in 1988.

This year’s game featured two area players in Cherokee County quarterback Coty Blanchard and Piedmont offensive lineman Seth Reedy.

“Obviously, we are very pleased that CSS will be re-airing this year’s All-Star Classic,” said All-Star Classic Executive Director Vic Knight. “While the game was originally broadcast into more than 70 million homes nationally by VERSUS, this will give additional exposure to all of this year’s players, the Mobile area and our generous sponsors who supported the event.”